


Twenty-Two Hours

by AileensFeather



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Canon, F/M, Not A Fix-It, One Shot, Rebelcaptain - Freeform, SO SORRY, Sassy K
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 13:51:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8982514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AileensFeather/pseuds/AileensFeather
Summary: A lot of things can happen in twenty-two hours. Friendships can be built. Bonds can be broken. People can live. People can die. It all depends on what you decide to do. It all depends on how you chose to live your life. It all depends on how you want to live it. 
Like a coward, who never looks up. Or like a hero, who never looks back. 
She pointed her finger to her blaster, raising an eyebrow at him. “Do you trust me with a blaster, now?” His face suddenly turned serious. “I trust you with my life.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> After I watched Rogue One - and the wave of feels that followed - I just had to write something about Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. I just had to. I even created an account to post this. That's how much that movie hit me. I used some of the movie's actual dialogue, and added some of my own. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or its characters. 
> 
> I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Yavin IV – Twenty-two hours**

 

Seven years ago, a young sixteen-year-old girl had promised herself never to get entangled with _Rebels_ ever again.

Yet here she was, standing at the edge of what could be the Rebellion’s biggest achievement in years.

In the eight long years Jyn had worked as one of Saw Guerrera’s most trusted soldiers, she’d never seen anything like the _Rebel_ _Base_ on Yavin IV. She’d seen it the day before, but hadn’t bothered taking the time to take its magnificence in. She hadn’t exactly planned on coming back. There were so many soldiers ready to give up their lives for a cause she didn’t entirely understand – she’d never _wanted_ to understand. So many X-fighters, so many weapons, so much fire-power for a war that was nearly impossible to win.

So much hope for a hopeless cause.  

Jyn Erso was sitting inside the stolen Imperial cargo ship, nervously twisting her fingers as she watched people scurry around the base, a feeling of dread looming over their heads. The gathering of the full council wasn’t an everyday event. It meant something. It meant war. It meant _death_.

She was waiting for Captain Cassian Andor to come back from his meeting with Mon Mothma, where he was supposed to explain everything that had happened on Jedha and Eadu, in detail. She’d gotten used to waiting.

In fact, she’d gotten excellent at it.

She’d waited hours for her father to come for her all those years ago, on Lah’Mu, all to realize that he’d been captured by the Empire right after they ruthlessly killed her mother. She’d waited until dawn, just like Saw had ordered her to when she was sixteen, just to realize that he’d abandoned her. She had waited for months, stuck inside a gloomy prison cell, for the right opportunity to arise for her to escape.

Waiting had been an immense part of her life, but waiting for Cassian’s return had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.

Jyn felt like she should have gone with him to the meeting, no matter what his bloody orders had been. She had been there, she had seen everything. She had been the only person to see her late father’s hologram. _She_ should be the one talking to the Council. Not Cassian.

Not the one who had been ordered to kill her father.

But didn’t.

“Jyn Erso?” Asked an all too familiar voice from outside the ship.

The twenty-two-year-old criminal swiftly rose from her not very comfortable seat and went to meet the sassiest droid she had ever had the misfortune to meet. “K2, do you have any news from Cassian?”

The droid nodded, its impressive size looming over her petite body. “Yes.”

Jyn waited for K-2SO to elaborate, but instead, it looked away towards the entrance of the temple. She followed its gaze, hoping to perceive Cassian in the distance, but to no avail. He wasn’t there. She gave her attention back to the machine. “Where is he?”

It raised its shoulders. “I do not know.”

“But you said you had news!” Groaned Jyn, her left hand flying to her forehead in exasperation.

“Indeed, I did.”

She felt an incredible urge to shoot the droid. “ _What are the news?_ ”

“The news are not for you, Jyn Erso.” K-2SO spoke in its condescending voice before walking past her inside the cargo ship.

Sighing angrily, she followed it to the control room, where it was already typing away on a keyboard on the right wall. “Then why did you call for _me?_ ”

“To make you move. I heard that moving helped humans with stress. Did it work?” The droid wondered, looking straight at her.

Jyn shook her head violently. “No! If anything, you made it worse.”

“A shame.” K2 said, his voice completely unapologetic, before returning to the controls.

That droid was going to be the death of her. She momentarily pictured herself reprogramming it, wondering if the bug in its system Cassian had mentioned earlier was fixable, but decided against it. Firstly, because K2 would probably just hand her ass back to her like it did back on Wanobi when it was ‘rescuing’ her, and secondly because no matter how exasperating it was, K2-SO had saved her life three times in under twenty-four hours, which was more than what most did for her.

Jyn turned towards the exit, her hands wiping angrily at her eyes. She was tired. She hadn’t even realized it until now.

“You should sleep.” Advised the droid from behind her. “You are no use to us if you suddenly fall asleep mid-mission.”

She rolled her eyes. “I won’t.”

“If you don’t go to sleep now, there is a 57% chance that you’ll fall asleep before setting foot on Scarif.” K2 stated, matter-of-factly. “ _If_ we are going to Scarif, that is.”

She’d intended to ignore it, but that last bit got her attention. “What do you mean?”

“There is an 89% chance that the Council won’t send any troops to retrieve the plans.”

Jyn frowned. “What? Why wouldn’t they? It’s the only way to defeat the Death Star!”

“So you say.”

That hit her harder than it should have. She’d known that the Council would be mistrusting of her – she was the daughter of Galen Erso, after all – but her father had devoted his whole life to the Rebellion. He’d died for the Rebellion.

Jyn felt a sudden wave of worry wash over her. What if Cassian didn’t believe her? When she had asked him earlier, on Eadu, he had told her that he wasn’t the one that she needed to convince, and she had just figured that he believed her. But what if he didn’t? What if-

“I sense your heartbeat rising at an alarming speed.” Commented K2, tearing her from her darkening thoughts.

“You don’t believe me.” Jyn half accused, half stated, a familiar feeling of betrayal settling inside of her.

K-2SO raised its shoulders. “I am a reprogrammed imperial droid. No one cares about what I believe or not.”

Jyn didn’t tear her gaze away. “I do.”

That seemed to surprise the droid, as it fell silent for the first time since she met it. She waited for it to respond – to say anything really – but it looked away. The girl wasn’t going to have that. She placed herself right in front of K2 again, demanding an answer. “I do care.”

Still, it’s eyes weren’t looking back at her.

“Tell me.” She urged, a newfound urgency in her tone.

The silence her words met felt even harder to bear than the reality of nobody believing her. It usually meant so little to her, to be believed in. She’d been on her own for years, she was used to the feeling, but for the first time in her life, she wanted someone – anyone, or even anything – to believe her. She _needed_ someone to believe her. She opened her mouth to ask once more, until it struck her. K-2SO wasn’t looking away; he was looking at something.

“Droids are not programmed to believe anything.” Said Cassian, his usual scowl twisting his features.

Or someone.

“Well, most droids aren’t. I don’t know about K.” The Captain added, brushing past her and placing his backpack on one of the seats.

Had he come back about five minutes ago, Jyn would have bombarded the man with hundreds of questions, she would have demanded hundreds of answers, but she wasn’t so sure anymore. She could feel K2’s cold eyes watching her, just like when it found out she’d stolen a blaster the first time they met. She felt the sudden urge to back away slowly, her survival instinct kicking in.

She stopped, however, when Cassian turned around to face her.

“The council wants to see you.” He told her, no emotion in his voice.

Jyn couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. “They do?”

He nodded. “They want to hear it from you.”

She nodded back, letting her eyes fall to the floor, already lost in her thoughts. Doubt was falling upon her like a suffocating cloak, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise slightly. So many ‘what-if’ scenarios started to swish through her mind, so many variables that could potentially mean the end of something that hadn’t even started yet.

“Now? Does the council want to see me, now?”

Cassian shook his head. “No, not quite yet. They’re waiting for the other high placed Council Members to be there.”

That made her frown. “There are others?”

“Yes, and decisions can only be made if every council member agrees.” Explained the Rebel Captain, leaning against the wall a little.

She nodded in understanding. “Is that what happened when you people decided to use me to get to Saw Guerrera?”

The accusation in her voice didn’t seem to faze him. “I don’t go to every meeting, I was on a mission, but I guess so.”

“You guess so.” Jyn repeated, softer than she had first intended to. “Right.”

Taking a deep breath, the girl nodded her thanks to the rebel before turning towards the exit, but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. “Jyn.”

She turned her head towards him. “Cassian.”

His dark brown eyes were burning into hers, making her breathing quicken slightly. His hold on her lessened a bit, making her wonder what he was thinking right at that moment.

“Everyone seems to forget that I’m here.” Whined K2, out of nowhere, making Cassian retract his hand from her instantly.

“We didn’t forget you, K.” Cassian reassured the droid, although it was clear that it didn’t need any kind of reassurance.

“Oh well, it’s not like I saved your lives a couple times, right?” It responded, making the young man chuckle.

Cassian was so used to his friend’s sarcastic remarks that he didn’t really care anymore. “I know, K.”

“Thank you.”

That made both machine and man turn towards Jyn, who’d uttered the words without really thinking about them first. But their confused faces didn’t stop her. “Thank you for saving me. I know you don’t like me, but you still did. So, thanks.”

For what seemed like a very long moment, there was a deafening silence. She expected it to tell her that it hadn’t really been given the choice, or that it was programmed for it, or that it hadn’t done it on purpose. Anything but: “You are very welcome, Jyn Erso.”

For the first time in a while, she smiled. Just a little bit. Then, she felt the unexplainable urge to turn to Cassian, who seemed even more surprised by his partner’s suddenly nice behaviour than her.

“You, too. Cassian.” Jyn said, looking straight into his eyes. “Thank you.”

The slight smile on his lips dropped a little, his scowl deepening. He opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly interrupted by a very calm Guardian of the Whills, his stick gently taping on the ground as he made his way to them.

“How did the meeting go?” Wondered Chirrut, his face as happy as always. “Well, I hope?”

“They want to see me.” Answered Jyn.

He nodded. “Of course, they do.”

“What did they tell you?” Suddenly asked a still very armed Baze coming up behind his friend, aiming the question directly at Captain Andor, who just shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing. They only ordered me to tell Jyn that they want an audience with her once the other leaders have arrived. Nothing more.”

Jyn wasn’t exactly convinced. “Did they believe me?”

“I don’t know.” Responded Cassian, not looking her in the eyes anymore.

“I believe her.” Defended Chirrut once more, his bright smile contagious.

Even Cassian smirked a little. “As helpful as ever.”

They all laughed for a moment, making her forget – for just a second – that these could be the last few hours of her life. And those last few hours wouldn’t be spent inside an Imperial Working Camp, but with people she actually _liked._ Not with disgusting criminals she’d never spoken to, but with people who’d already put their lives in danger to help her. To save her.

That made her immediately think of the brown eyed Captain next to her. She couldn’t help it. Even after finding out that he’d betrayed her trust, that he’d planned on assassinating her father, she couldn’t hate him. He saved her life more times that she could remember, he’d had her back on Jedha when he came to get her when the world was crumbling all around her. He’d come to save her back on Eadu, when pain and loss was all that she could feel, all that she could see. But the most important thing was that he had _decided_ to not kill her father when he’d had the chance.

Cassian Andor was the most confusing person she had ever met.  

Baze cleared his throat. “Haven’t seen him since we got back.”

That pulled her out of her reverie. “What?”

“Chirrut asked where Bodhi is.” Repeated Baze, gesturing towards him.

Jyn turned her attention to Chirrut – until she realized her idiotic mistake – and turned to face Cassian, who was already shaking his head to the sides. “Went to the meeting the moment we landed, I haven’t seen him either.”

Slowly, Jyn turned towards the exit of the ship, wondering where the defected pilot could possibly be. She hoped that he hadn’t gotten lost somewhere within the base. A rebel base was always a dangerous place. Especially for an ex-Imperial pilot.

“We need to find him.” Jyn stated, eyeing the others. “It could be dangerous.”

“The defected Imperial pilot is currently sleeping below deck.” Informed a seemingly annoyed K-2SO, slowly stepping over to where the trap door was. “He’s been there for hours now.”

The word _sleeping_ seemed to have a triggering effect on the crew. Jyn felt the urge to sleep again, this time a little more urgent than before. She raised her hand to her eyes, trying to wipe the sleepiness away, in vain. The human body could only take so much, and after two major fights, the loss of her father and of her second father, she felt like deserved a break.

“You _look_ tired.” Commented Chirrut, making her smile again.

“If you say it, then it must be true.” She told him, taking his hand in hers. “Did the force tell you?”

She could nearly feel the disapproving scowl coming from his protector. “Don’t encourage him, little one.”

“She doesn’t need to. I know that I’m one with the force and the force is with me.” Chirrut chanted, making Baze roll his eyes again.

K2’s head cocked to the side. “I don’t understand that sentence.”

“Not everyone does.” Agreed the Guardian, his smile never leaving his lips.

Cassian then walked over to where she was standing, his arms crossed on his torso. “He is right, you know?”

Jyn raised an eyebrow. “About the force?”

The Captain shook his head. “About you looking tired. You should sleep.”

She wanted to protest, but the words died down on her tongue before she even found the will to say them. He was right. Chirrut was right.

It just didn’t feel _right._

“I know, but I can’t go to sleep before I know what the Council thinks of-”

“You won’t be any use to us if you’re half-asleep.” He told her, raising en eyebrow. “You need sleep. We all do. And I’ll tell you when the meeting is the moment they inform me.”

She groaned. “You sound just like K-2SO.”

Cassian laughed. “No, K sounds like _me_.”

Eventually, Jyn did allow herself a few hours of sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

**Yavin IV – Thirteen hours**

 

Jyn had never expected to be able to sleep this much.

Sleeping in a humid prison cell had never been easy, but after a few weeks, she’d gotten used to it. Plus, after all the work they had to do in the Imperial Camp, she’d usually fallen asleep before her head had hit her pillow – or lack thereof.

This time, she had slept in a camp bed. For some people, probably as worse as a prison bed, but to her, it was perfect. Exactly was she was used to back in Saw’s bases across the galaxy. Strangely enough, the thought of him didn’t bring her half as much pain as it should have. She’d learned to not get attached to people. To not trust them under any circumstances if she wanted to _not_ get hurt again. She’d promised herself that when she was just a young teenager.

In less than two days, Jyn Erso had already broken two of her own promises.

She was sitting at a bar, not too far from where she was supposed to go with Bodhi in a few minutes, to meet the Council. The bar was nearly empty; most soldiers were preparing their battle gear after the news came from Jedha. They’d been on edge ever since. They were waiting for their orders, and Jyn prayed that they would get them.

It was a one-time opportunity.

Krenick knew that her father had placed a flaw inside their mega-weapon, so it was just a matter of time until they realized where it was. And then, it would be too late. The Empire would win.

The Rebellion would be lost.

“Something to drink?” Asked the bartender, its dozens of tentacles doing dozens of different things.

Jyn didn’t really feel like drinking anything, but after sitting there for nearly an hour, she couldn’t just refuse a drink again. “A glass of water, please.”

“No alcohol?” Remarked a smiling Cassian, materializing in the seat next to her. “Surprising.”

She raised an eyebrow, trying not to look taken aback. “Do I look like an alcoholic?”

“No, not at all. But I thought, after all you’ve been through, after all those months in prison, you’d want to have a drink.” He explained, his smile fading a bit, making him look a bit tired.

She made a face, acting disgusted. “Never liked the taste much.”

“Nobody really does. Especially the hard stuff.” Cassian said, raising his hand to get the attention of the bartender, who asked him if he was going to take the usual, to which he agreed.

That made Jyn raise her eyebrows at the man. “You come here often, huh?”

“You do know that I’m an intelligence officer?” He reminded her, nodding his thanks to the bartender and taking a sip of his weird looking drink. “Bars are the best place to find people with information.”

She smirked. “So, you’re an alcoholic, but it’s alright because it’s for the Rebellion?”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Cassian’s face clearly showed that he hadn’t found it funny at all. She opened her mouth to apologize – something that she rarely ever did – but seeing the effect it had had on him made her reconsider. The Rebellion seemed to be a touchy subject with him, and she kept mentioning it, and not even on purpose. He was a Rebel Captain, for god’s sake, how was she supposed to avoid _The Rebellion_.

Why would she _want_ to avoid the subject in the first place, confused her even more.

Jyn realized that she liked to see him smile.

“I’m sorry, Jyn.” Cassian whispered, making her eyes go wide for a moment.

She wanted to ask him what he was sorry about, but didn’t. She knew what he meant. She knew.

“Me too, Cassian.” She responded, not entirely sure what else to say to him.

He then turned his head towards her, a small smile playing at his lips, silently telling her that he’d accepted her apology. She started to sip her water, relishing in its fresh taste – nothing like what she’d been served on Wanobi. Cassian, on the other hand, downed his drink in one go, his features twisting ever so slightly.

“Are you nervous?” He asked, playing with his glass. “About the meeting?”

She bit her lower lip. “It’s not the meeting I’m nervous about. I’m just scared that they won’t believe me.”

“You gotta convince them.” He advised, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. “It won’t be easy, but it might be possible.”

She sighed. “Might?”

“They’re afraid, Jyn. They don’t know you. They don’t know if they can trust you. Give them a little time, they’ll come around.”

“I can’t give them time we don’t have!” She groaned, letting her head fall into her hands. “If the Empire finds the plans before we do, we’re done for! The whole galaxy will be doomed.”

Cassian sighed, silently agreeing with her, but not quite able to voice it out loud. He had an idea, something mad. Something that was probably going to get him killed. But that little something could – with just a little bit of luck – mean everything. He knew that some of his friends wanted to fight, regardless of what the Council said. He knew that if needed, he’d find soldiers ready to die for the cause. If Mon Mothma decided not to let Jyn go after the plans, he knew that she’d go regardless. He knew that she wouldn’t let her father’s legacy go to waste.

Cassian knew that wherever she would go, he would follow.

“Jyn, I think that I know a way-” The Captain started, ready to divulge his plan, but was interrupted by a very distressed looking Bodhi.

“Jyn, the Council is expecting us.” The pilot said, then added, as an afterthought, “now.”

The young criminal nodded, placing her barely touched glass of water on the counter, and sending Cassian one last little smile, hoping for the best. “Alright.”

The rebel nodded at her. “Convince them.”

Once at the door, Jyn turned around one more time, a determined expression plastered on her face.

“I will.”

He would follow her anywhere.

 

* * *

 

**Yavin IV – Twelve hours**

 

Jyn could not believe her ears.

“We must scatter the fleet!” Ordered a dark-skinned woman, the people behind her voicing their agreement with their leader. “We have no recourse but to surrender.”

The young criminal tried extremely hard not to roll her eyes at her. Le Council member had been going on and on explaining how untrustworthy Jyn was – and even if Jyn understood why – it deeply annoyed her how a leader of the Rebel Alliance would be so quick to _give up._

“Are we really talking about disbanding something that we’ve worked so hard to create?” Asked a very calm man – who happened to be the King of Alderaan –, looking at the people around him. Jyn immediately noticed that he was a very skilled talker, as when his eyes met hers, she felt as if he’d seen right through her.

“We can’t just give in!” Argued another leader, but was interrupted by another member.

“We joined an alliance, not a suicide pack!” He cried, looking at his comrades.

The King of Alderaan tried to reason them. “We’ve just now managed to gather our forces.”

“Gather our forces? General Draven’s already blown up an Imperial base.” Said the Leader standing on the left side of the room.

Jyn felt a sudden pang of anger stab her as the said General crossed his arms over his torso, not seeming sorry at all. “A decision needed to be made.”

The young girl took a deep breath, hoping she could keep her wrath in check. The man – Draven – was the man that had ordered Cassian to kill her father, and when he failed to do so, sent rebel pilots to do the job in his place. Jyn opened her mouth to say something, but then Bodhi, who had been standing right behind her, took her hand in his. He squeezed it briefly before letting her go, silently telling that she wasn’t alone in this.

It felt good to have support.

“If it’s war you want,” Threatened the dark-skinned woman, “you’ll fight it alone.”

Jyn really couldn’t believe her ears. In what galaxy did that woman live? The war wasn’t coming, it was already there, at their doorstep. What did she expect when she first joined the _Rebel Alliance_? To gather every now and then to complain about the Empire? About how mean they are? How annoying they are? How that woman became a leader in the first place was beyond her.

“If that’s where it’s going that why have an alliance at all?” Wondered the man sitting next to her.

Why have an alliance? To fight for a better future, that’s why.

“If she’s telling the truth,” spoke a weird looking alien, pointing at Jyn, “we need to act _now._ ”

That’s when Mon Mothma decided that it was the right time to step in. “Councillors, please.”

“It’s simple. The Empire has the means of mass destruction, the Rebellion does _not._ ” Stated the Blue Leader from the X-wings teams.

Why did they seem so surprised by this? The Empire always had more means than the Rebellion. Always. They’d never considered it to be fatal before. They have one chance to save their Alliance by getting the plans from the Empire’s biggest weapon, and they aren’t rebels anymore? Where was the bravery Saw had always talked about? Where was the faith?

“The _Death Star,_ ” Said the leader beside her, his tone mocking, “this is nonsense.”

Nonsense? Did that mean that Jedha City’s destruction was nonsense? That the death of the million-people living on that moon meant nothing? Did they actually think that the city collapsed on its own, taking the lives of its inhabitants with it? That Saw Guerrera’s death was a hoax. That her father had lied?

That was it. She’d had enough of _their nonsense._

“What reason would my father have to lie?” Asked Jyn, looking straight in the eyes of the man standing on her right. “What benefit would it bring him?”

It was General Draven who answered. “To lure our forces into a final battle to _destroy_ us once and for all.”

“Risk everything.” Said the man to her left, sceptic. “Based on what? The testimony of a criminal? The dying words of her father, an imperial scientist?”

There it was. The ‘she’s a criminal’ argument. The ‘she’s the daughter of Galen Erso’ argument.

“But don’t forget the Imperial pilot.” Added the man to the right, gesturing towards the said pilot.

Jyn felt the urge to punch these two men, probably good friends, considering that they had the exact same politic beliefs. Bodhi Rook was the man who made this opportunity possible. Without him and his bravery to leave everything he knew behind, nobody would have seen the weapon coming. The Rebel Alliance would have lost without a doubt.

Bodhi Rook wasn’t a defected imperial pilot, he was a bloody hero.

“My father gave his life so that we may have a chance to defeat this!” Jyn argued, her arms starting to tremble in anger.

“So you’ve told us.” Said a bearded man, not too far away from her.

“If the Empire has this kind of fire-power than what chance do we have?” Asked the woman, her eyes pleading with the others.

“What chance do we have?” Repeated Jyn, starting to get desperate. “The question is what _choice_. Run. Hide. ‘Scatter your forces’. You give way to an enemy _this_ evil with _this_ much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission!”

Thankfully, some people in the back started to agree with her.

“The time to fight is _now!”_ Jyn pressed, looking at every leader in the room, hoping to make them see reason. “Every moment you waste is another step towards the ashes of Jedha!”

Some people started to ask questions, but she was on a roll. Looking straight at Mon Mothma, she continued. “Send your best troops to Scarif. Send a rebel fleet if you have to. You need to capture the Death Star plans if there’s any hope of destroying it.”

“You’re asking us to invade an Imperial installation based on nothing but hope?” Asked the dark-skinned woman, her tone disbelieving.

Without being able to stop it, Jyn pictured herself back in the streets of Jedha City with Cassian, where she’d shown him the same disbelieving expression. A small smile spread on her lips as she remembered the words he’d told her, his voice full of pride.

“Rebellions are built on hope.”

The leaders looked amongst themselves. “There is no hope.”

Jyn thought that these people would never understand what she meant until one of them reacted. “I say we fight!”

“I say the rebellion is _finished_.” Yelled the man to her left.

Everyone started to argue, giving their own points of view of the situation, making her start to wonder if K-2SO had been right. It was a lost cause.

Eventually, Mon Mothma spoke again, and not with good news. “I’m sorry, Jyn. Without the full support of the Council,” She said, sighing in defeat. “The odds are too great.”

The voices in the room stopped all at once, accepting the head of the Council’s decision. There was nothing to be done. Cassian had warned her about that. And with the cowards in the room, there was no way that she’d get the support of the Rebel Fleet.

If nobody was going to help her, then she would do it on her own.

Like she always did.

Taking a deep breath, and sending one last disappointed look at the Council members, she turned on her heels and left the room, a shocked Bodhi right behind her. For a moment, she thought of how the pilot must have felt in that room. He’d risked his life, his everything, to get the message to the Rebels, but for what? For them to tell him that it’s a lost cause?

Jyn couldn’t go back now. She owed it to her father. She owed it to Saw Guerrera who had told her to save the dream.

She owed it to Bodhi.

As determined as ever, Jyn exited the temple and walked towards the stolen ship, where Baze and Chirrut were waiting for her.

“You don’t look happy.” Stated her long-haired friend.

She threw her hands in the air, completely exasperated. “They prefer to surrender.”

Baze didn’t seem fazed at all. “And you?”

Jyn Erso didn’t surrender. Never in a million light years.

“She wants to fight.” Answered Chirrut for her, slamming his wooden stick on the ground.

“So do I.” Added Bodhi, new found courage fuelling his words.

“The Force is strong.” Commented Chirrut, smiling again, automatically making Baze roll his eyes.

Jyn admired the determination these people were showing, but no matter how determined they all were, they were still only three. “I’m not sure four of us will be enough.”

“How many do we need?” Wondered Baze, his arms crossed.

Jyn frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The man just turned his head and pointed to something behind her. Jyn’s frown deepened but turned as requested. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes met Cassian’s, standing in front of a little crowd of armed soldiers.

“They were never gonna believe you.” Cassian told her, smiling a little.

Jyn rolled her eyes and spread her arms. “I appreciate the support.”

“But I do.” The Captain admitted, walking slowly towards her. “I believe you.”

Well, she had not seen that one coming. She’d thought that Cassian was a by-the-book kind of rebel. He always did what he was ordered to, no matter how bad those things were. After what happened earlier between them, she’d thought that no matter what she said, he’d always be on the Council’s side.

How wrong she had been.

“We’d like to volunteer.” Cassian said, glancing at the men behind him. She recognized one of them, as he’d been the one to rescue her from Wanobi. She had also kicked him hard where it hurt. Poor guy.

“Some of us,” He continued, looking back at her, “well, most of us. We’ve done a whole lot of horrible things on the behalf of the rebellion. Spies. Saboteurs. Assassins. Everything I did, I did for the Rebellion. And every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause that I believed in. A cause that was worth it.”

Jyn couldn’t keep her eyes off him. She couldn’t believe how honest he was being, how brave. She’d noticed that what he’d done earlier in his life was a touchy subject, but now he was owning up to what he did.

He wasn’t talking his way around it anymore.

“Without that,” He continued, “we’re lost. Everything we’ve done would have been for nothing. I couldn’t face myself if we gave up now.”

He gestured to the others. “None of us could.”

Not able to restrain herself any longer, Jyn started to smile, more than happy to know that it wasn’t a lost cause. That people still wanted to fight. That people were ready to risk their lives for something they believed in, for the sake of their people.

That they were rebels.

“It wouldn’t be comfortable.” Said Bodhi, out of nowhere, making everyone turn towards him. “We’ll be crammed, but it’ll – uh – it’ll fit. We can go.”

Smiling even more now, Jyn shot a determined glance at Cassian, who naturally didn’t need any more words to understand what he had to do. “Okay, you’re up! Grab anything that’s not laid down.” The soldiers immediately started to scatter across the base, doing exactly what their Captain had ordered them to.

Feeling relieved, Jyn turned towards her pilot and nodded, silently telling him to start the engine. Bodhi immediately ran towards his ship, a victorious smile gracing his lips. She was about to follow him when a voice stopped her.

“Jyn,” Called K-2SO, standing right in front of her, “I’ll be there for you.”

The girl nodded at it, smirking a little, wondering where the sarcastic little droid had gone.

“Cassian said I had to.”

Ah. There it was.

When her robotic frenemy started to walk away, a smiling Cassian was walking towards her. And as he was walking, Jyn realized that she was _really_ happy that he hadn’t abandoned her. She knew that she shouldn’t have cared if he had decided to do what his superiors ordered him to, but she knew that it would have hurt her. He’d disobeyed orders twice for her, now. Captain Cassian Andor had chosen to fight beside her.

Jyn trusted him.

For the first time in years, she genuinely trusted someone.

 “I’m not used to people sticking around when things go bad.” She admitted, staring deep into his dark brown eyes.

Cassian approached her slowly, getting closer than he’d ever done before and said. “Welcome home.”

Jyn didn’t exactly know what he had meant by that, but it didn’t matter to her, because he was right. Her father used to tell her that home was where the heart was. She had never understood what that sentence meant.

But now. Now she did.

She finally did.

 

* * *

 

 

**On their way to Scarif – Three hours**

Rogue One.

That was the name Bodhi Rook found for the Imperial cargo ship they’d stolen back on Eadu. That was the name he’d chosen for its crew of criminals, assassins, spies and so on. That was the name of the first group she genuinely wanted to be a part of.

Rogue One was the first thing she actually believed in.

The ship was currently in hyperspace, flying through the blue vortex, taking them where they needed to be. Bodhi and K2-SO were handling the controls, pushing a few buttons once in a while. K2 was also running a few diagnostics on their chances of succeeding the mission. Diagnostics Jyn really didn’t feel like hearing.

“The chances of failure are very high.” The droid stated, not looking away from the control panel.

Somehow used to his perpetual optimism, she just nodded. “I know, K.”

That earned her a look from the pilot. “You sound just like Cassian.”

Jyn smiled. “Everyone seems to sound like Cassian these days.”

K2 didn’t seem to understand, but didn’t press the matter any further, it had better things to do; like scaring the crew with its stupid probabilities. One of its favourite hobbies, she was sure.

Speaking of Cassian, the girl started to scan the space behind her, wondering where the Captain had gone off to. He couldn’t have gone far, it was a cargo ship, not a bloody battle ship. She was about to go down the latter to search for him when his dark hair suddenly surfaced from it, scaring the living daylights out of her.

“Cassian!” She exclaimed, trying to cover her fright by smiling. “I was searching for you.”

The man couldn’t hide his smirk. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You didn’t scare me.” Jyn lied, playfully rolling her eyes at him.

“Sure, I didn’t.” He agreed, his smirk growing by the second.

Jyn opted for the safest option and decided not to answer to that. Instead, she returned her attention to the pilots, who seemed completely oblivious to the both of them. Cassian leaned against the wall, his feet crossed, but didn’t say anything. In fact, he just looked at her, but not in the same way he did when they first met, on Yavin IV. That made her think of something.

She pointed her finger to her blaster, raising an eyebrow at him. “Do you trust me with a blaster, now?”

His face suddenly turned serious. “I would trust you with my life.”

And Jyn realized that she trusted Cassian just as much.

Maybe even more.

 

* * *

 

 

**Scarif – Seven minutes**

 

They’d done it.

Jyn watched as the little black bars appeared on the screen, a smile gracing her dirty face. The plans were being transmitted. The Rebels would have a fighting chance against the killing machine that was the Death Star. They would be able to destroy it.

She’d done it. Just like she’d promised her father.

Happier than she’d ever been before, the young girl turned to her partner, slowly staggering towards him. She grabbed his arm, still not able to believe the fact that they had accomplished their mission. He looked at her, smiling, before his gaze returned to the dead man lying on the ground, a few feet away from them.

She suddenly charged towards Krenick, a low growl escaping her scraped lips, but before she could reach him, Cassian took a hold of her arm and brought her back against his body. As he whispered calming words to her, Jyn felt the fist-clenching anger leave her mind slowly. That monster wasn’t worth her time anymore. He’d lost. She had won.

She looked away from him gradually, concentrating on Cassian’s words. “Let’s go.”

Jyn nodded and put his arm around her shoulders, trying to help the injured man to walk. Smiling a little, they both staggered towards the elevator that had brought Krenick up, hoping to escape as quickly as possible.

“You think anybody’s listening?” Asked Cassian, looking her straight in the eyes as they were walking.

The criminal smiled. “I do. Someone’s out there.”

Jyn couldn’t be sure. She really wasn’t. But she had faith.

Someone was out there.

Once they arrived at the elevator, Cassian pushed the button that opened the doors, his breathing erratic because of his injury. Jyn helped him get his battered body inside of it before hitting the button that would get them both back on the ground before leaning against the wall.

That’s approximatively when she realized just how close to him she was, and just how much it didn’t bother her. She realized it felt somewhat natural to be with him, in that moment. She would never have been able to complete the transmission without him. She’d thought that everything had been lost when Krenick had appeared out of nowhere. She’d thought that she had failed her father. That she had failed the galaxy.

But Cassian had saved her.

For a moment, the twenty-two-year old wondered how she had managed to survive so long without him in her life.

Jyn then thought that she never wanted to live without him again.

In only two days of knowing him, she knew that she could trust him. She hoped that he felt the same way. She would do the same, given the chance. But she knew that he knew. He knew that she knew.

They just _knew._

As the elevator was going down, she couldn’t look away from his eyes. After all they’d been through, she wanted to know him better. She wanted to understand why he’d become a rebel. She wanted to hear his story from the beginning to…

… _the end._

Jyn suddenly remembered K-2SO’s words back in the archive chamber, right before it had locked them inside. It had told them that they had closed the force field, trapping them inside the Imperial Base. Trapping them on Scarif.

Her brain started working at warp speed, trying to make a good enough plan to get both Cassian and her out of this hellhole alive. She thought about Bodhi and Rogue One, wondering if she could reach it with her wounded leg and Cassian’s bad injury. She knew that he wouldn’t leave without them, that he would wait for them, just like he’d told them. She trusted him. Bodhi would still be there.

They also needed to find Chirrut and Baze along the way, hopefully both fine. She was sure they were. The force was with them, after all. They had to be okay. They just _had_ to be.

But _what if_ they weren’t?

Jyn felt an abrupt fear sting her where it hurt. She couldn’t lose them. She’d already lost her father. She’d already lost her mother. She’d already lost Saw. She’d already lost K-2SO. She couldn’t lose them, too.

She couldn’t lose Cassian.

She wanted to have other adventures with him, all around the galaxy. She knew that he’d somehow find a way to reunite with his broken droid. He’d stolen an Imperial droid before, he could do it again. She knew that the fight for freedom wasn’t over – far from that. She knew that there were still wars to be waged, lots of battles to be won. She had never understood why people joined the Rebel Alliance. Now she did.

Jyn Erso wasn’t a criminal anymore. She was a _rebel._

She gently grabbed Cassian’s hand, making him wince slightly, reminding her that she had nearly lost him. The crippling fear she’d felt when he’d fallen from the archive tower. Cassian squeezed her hand, also reminding her that he was still there, and that he wasn’t going anywhere. When the door opened, she didn’t immediately notice it. If he hadn’t gently pushed her forward, she would probably have stayed there, staring at him.

Jyn helped him get out of the elevator, enjoying the feeling of the sand under her feet. Her eyes started to scan the area, hoping to see an ever smiling Chirrut waiting for them somewhere. But that’s not what she saw.

Instead, she saw a blinding stream of green light hit the sea.

The light turned orange, destroying everything in its path, just as it had done on Jedha. For a few terrible seconds, Jyn forgot how to think. So she did the only thing that seemed natural, that she always did when things became difficult.

She marched on.

She tightened her hold on Cassian’s hand around her shoulders and kept walking. They kept walking until they just couldn’t anymore. The young man fell to his knees, the pain far too great to remain standing. Jyn followed closely behind him, kneeling right next to him, her eyes fixating the chaos in front of her.

Jyn had known that there had been very little chance for her to make it out of Scarif alive. K2 had told her its calculations. But it had also told her that there had been very little chance for Rogue One to succeed, yet they had. There had been hope.

Now she hoped for a quick, not-too-painful death.

She turned her head towards Cassian, who had already been looking at her. He was smiling, and Jyn liked it when he smiled. “Your father would be proud of you, Jyn.”

Somehow, that little sentence meant the world to her.

She reached out to him and grabbed his hand, feeling extremely happy and horribly sad at the same time.

As Cassian took her in his arms, Jyn couldn’t help but think about all the things that could have been. About all the adventure she could have had with him. About everything she didn’t know about him. She had never really known what love was, but she somehow knew that the way she was feeling at _that_ moment was as close as she was ever going to get.

His arms tightened around her, making her do the same. She didn’t want Cassian to die. She wanted him to live. She wanted to tell him so many things. She suddenly thought of Lah’Mu, the planet she and her parents had lived on many years ago. How happy she’d been there. How much she wanted to share those moments with Cassian, but how she would never be able to.

Their story would end before it even begun.

She hid her face inside his shirt, trying to stop the tears escaping her eyes, but couldn’t. There was no stopping them this time. The tears represented everything that could have been. The explosion grew near, and there was no escaping anymore, but she wasn’t scared. She was no longer a little girl. Jyn Erso was a true rebel now, and rebels weren’t afraid of death. They were brave. Plus, she wasn’t alone anymore. She had Cassian.

She had Cassian.

**0 minutes.**

**Author's Note:**

> That movie emotionally wrecked me.


End file.
